Reach (RCH) Trading Update summary

Trading performance

• Digital revenue increased by 2.5% in Q3, driven by strong digital trading and improved yield, offsetting a 5% decline in page views.

• Data-driven revenues grew 10% and now account for 46% of digital revenues, up from 43% in FY23.

• Print circulation revenue remained stable, with effective cover price management and promotional activity mitigating volume declines.

• Print advertising revenue outperformed volume declines, supported by strong retailer demand.

• Group revenue declined 1.9% year-on-year for Q3 and 3.0% for the first nine months.

Strategic initiatives and outlook

• Customer Value Strategy is driving revenue diversification and higher-value advertising partnerships.

• Investments continue in US expansion, website re-platforming, and the in-house ad tech platform, Mantis.

• Confident in meeting full-year expectations, with consensus adjusted operating profit for FY24 at £97.7m.

• Cost savings are tracking slightly ahead of the 5-6% target set at the year's start.

• Monitoring tech platform actions on referral volumes, with further digital growth expected in Q4.

Market and operational context

• Advertisers shifted spend to June and July to align with major events like the European Football Championships.

• Q3 featured significant news events, highlighting the importance of trusted news sources amid disinformation.

• No adjustments made for the additional trading day in the reporting period.

• Comparative periods for Q4 and FY23 will include an extra trading week versus Q4 and FY24.

• Like-for-like results to be disclosed at full-year results in March 2025.